outdoor class
by Ju5t An0th3r H3d63h06
Summary: /"Are you in love with anyone?"/ Someone asks a question, and Kate and Keith's lives suddenly get that much more complicated. Loosely based on the in-game Outdoor Class mission. Vatonage with hints of Ranger, oneshot. Prizefic for Savvyzzzz The Awesome Ninja.


**A/N: Okay, Savvyzzzz, I know I promised this on Saturday, but then a scholarship deadline kicked in and...agh. Also, the ending is a piece of crap because I generally suck at endings. T^T**

**Disclaimer: Consider this disclaimed.**

**EDITS: so. many. mistakes. agh. Added a linebreaker because Fanfiction keeps eating them. Also, a side note-I took the liberty of giving Summerland a Ranger School counterpart 'cause well, that pier just looked so empty in the Almia Times screencap...**

* * *

나 어떡해 점점 더 니가 좋은데

너 몰라주니

어디서든 어딜 보든 너만 보여

더는 못 참아 나 니가 필요해

translation:  
what am i gonna do? i like you more and more  
but why don't you know my heart?  
wherever i go, wherever i look, i only see you  
i can't take it anymore, i need you

~teen top, be ma girl

* * *

outdoor class

* * *

The Summerland sun is shining, the Taillow are chirping, and Keith wakes up knowing something bad is going to happen today. The mouthwatering aroma of Cameron's famous pancakes floats up the stairs and into his room, and he blames the dread on his growling stomach as he grabs his Ranger uniform and heads in the direction of the shower, hoping he'll make it downstairs before half the stack is gone.

* * *

_There's nothing like standing under a hot shower for a few minutes to cure a sleepy stupor,_ Kate muses to herself as she wrangles her unmanageable brown hair into two slightly more manageable spiky ponytails. She's just finished when she catches the now-familiar aroma of burnt toast. Sighing, she heads down the stairs and into the Vientown Base's kitchen, blaming her fleeting sense of dread on the fact that it's Luana's turn to make breakfast today.

* * *

Keith drowns his stack of pancakes in syrup and begins to cut into them, remembering how he and Kate used to compete in Ranger School to see who could eat more. She out-ate me every time, he thinks, and grins to himself.

"You're awfully happy this morning," says Lunick, sitting down next to him and cutting into a significantly smaller stack.

"Yep, pancakes are my favorite food," Keith replies cheerfully. "Back at Ranger School, I had a friend who used to have pancake-eating competitions with me. She always won, though."

"Cool," says the navy-haired male, reaching for the syrup. "Sounds like you like her a lot."

"Oh, yeah," says Keith through a mouthful of pancake, eyes lighting up. "She's my best friend. We've done so much cool stuff together, like the time we stayed up late having a Teen Titans marathon, and the day we threw water balloons off the roof of the school for April Fool's day, and-"

The older boy grins knowingly. Keith stops mid-sentence and turns slightly red. "What?" he says defensively.

"Nothing," says Lunick, still grinning. Keith glares at his pancakes and tunes back into Cameron's morning announcements just in time to hear that his Mission is to teach an Outdoor Class at the Summerland Institute.

* * *

Kate almost spits out her Pop-Tart. (Thankfully, the jam-filled toaster pastries weren't a casualty of Luana's terrible connoisseur skills.) "I'm doing _what?_"

"I contacted Barlow last night," says Crawford, oblivious to Kate's consternation. "He was originally supposed to be the one to do it, but since he can't make it, he recommended you in his place."

Saving Vien Forest? Easy as pie. Dealing with the Question-and-Answer Session of Terror? Not so much. Although Kate doesn't mind starting conversations with people she's never met, she always gets nervous in front of large groups of people. Teaching an Outdoor Class is going to be practically impossible.

"I wish Keith was here," Kate mumbles to herself as Crawford says something about "representing the Vientown Ranger Base, so please be professional". Keith helped her get over her stage fright before the Capturing Contest back at Ranger School. Plus, he's always brave even when he's doing something stupid, like the time he ditched class to chase down a Styler thief…

"Keith was your cute friend who came to 1-Day Internship once, right?" says Luana.

"U-um…" Kate stares confusedly at Luana. _Wait…__cute?_

Luana winks at her. "You were thinking aloud."

Kate turns slightly red and takes an unnecessarily large bite of Pop-Tart to disguise her embarrassment.

* * *

Keith follows Lunick out of the Summerland Base, enjoying the feel of the sun on his arms. Less than a month in the summer-themed city, and he already has an awesome tan.

"Ready for your first Outdoor Class?" asks Lunick.

"Yup!" Keith responds cheerfully. "This is gonna be great!"

"Good luck," says Lunick seriously. "When I had to teach class, someone asked me if my hairstyle was just bedhead."

"Well, is it?" asks Keith with a cocky grin.

"Can it, you," retorts Lunick, only half joking. "Anyway, they've got me patrolling the Olive Jungle with Solana today, so I gotta go. Seeya!" With a wave, the Top Ranger dashes off.

"Bui, buibui bui-zel?" Keith's Buizel looks worriedly at its Trainer.

Keith shrugs. "C'mon, B, it's only Ranger Academy. How bad can it get?" (He decides not to tell his Partner Pokémon that once upon a time, he wrote 38 Outdoor Class questions on a piece of paper.)

* * *

Kate jogs along the bridge to her old school, psyching herself up as she does so.

"Kate, this is easy. You know all about being a Ranger. Even if you make a mistake today, just remember: there's always someone who's done something stupider." It sounds like something Keith would say, and the ponytailed girl smiles slightly, cheered by the thought of her best friend.

"Munch!" says the Munchlax by Kate's side encouragingly.

"I don't know, Munchlax," says Kate glumly. "Do you really think I can do this?"

"Munch, munchlax." The Big Eater Pokémon gives her a toothy grin and retrieves a Pecha Berry from its fur, offering it to her.

"U-um…that's okay," says Kate hastily. "I'm good." Then she sees the two Dim Sun goons using a Miniremo on a Croagunk, and all Outdoor Class-related fears evaporate for the time being as she and Munchlax go into fight mode.

* * *

Summerland Academy is a lot bigger than it looks. Keith swipes a school map when no one is looking, but it doesn't seem to help. Twice he finds himself next to the same water fountain. The third time, he lets out a frustrated growl and viciously ruffles his reddish-orange hair.

"The Dim Sun goons over by the school were way easier to deal with than this map," he grumbles to himself, glaring angrily at said piece of paper. Buizel hooks its claws into his shorts and scampers up to Keith's shoulder, studying the piece of paper intensely before rotating it ninety degrees.

"Oh." Keith chooses to ignore the fact that a _Pokémon_ just figured out he was holding the map upside down, blaming it on his family's collective lack of directional skills as he takes off in the right direction.

* * *

"Hi, Ms. April!" Kate waves at her former teacher.

The pretty middle-aged woman smiles back. "It's great to see you again, Kate. Our students have been looking forward to this day since the beginning of the school year. Since you're a recent graduate, it makes this experience even more exciting for them."

_No pressure,_ thinks Kate weakly as she follows Ms. April into the building. The brunette teacher chatters on about everything that happened in school since the young Ranger graduated, and Kate begins to feel slightly more at ease.

"The Halloween pranks this year just couldn't live up to you three's," says Ms. April ruefully, referencing the inseparable pranking trio of Kate, Keith, and Rhythmi (and occasionally Isaac.)

"That's 'cause we're the best!" proclaims Kate, sticking her Styler triumphantly into the air with a grin.

Ms. April laughs and halts in front of the Staff Room. "Okay, we're here. I'll give you a bit of a refresher on the Outdoor Class, just in case. Oh, and you can try the new hot chocolate machine while we're at it," she adds knowingly.

"HOT CHOCOLATE?" The winter breeze has managed to chill Kate on her walk even through her well-insulated Ranger uniform, and her eyes light up at the mention of the deliciously warm drink.

_Principal Lamont won't know what hit him,_ thinks Ms. April regretfully as she goes to warn her boss about the hyperactive, hot-chocolate-loving Outdoor Class teacher headed his way.

* * *

Keith finally manages to find the courtyard and steps out into the warm sunshine, slightly chilly from the Academy's intense air conditioning system. Buizel scampers out after him and runs circles around his feet while he squints against the light, scanning the enormous playground for the fountain. Finally, he spots it and jogs over, nearly tripping over his Partner Pokémon on the way. A group of girls see this and giggle madly. Keith scowls.

_Lunick was right. I'm gonna need all the luck I can get._

Finally, Keith arrives at the fountain, where a small semicircle of students is sitting cross-legged on the grass. He waves, and most of them wave back.

"Hi, Ranger teacher!" yells someone.

"Oh good, you're here," says one of the teachers, walking over to him. "We're starting in ten minutes." Her waist-length navy blue hair is held back by a pair of triangle-shaped hair clips, and she is wearing a pink skirt, marking her as one of the only two adults here wearing something besides brown, gray or khaki. (The other one is an adult with violet hair and an indigo jacket.)

"You look familiar," says Keith, scrutinizing the navy-haired woman. _Has she been to the Ranger Base before or something?_

"If you end that sentence with 'I've seen you in my dreams', I will personally knock you out," replies Navy Haired Teacher with a positively evil glare.

Keith backs up two full steps. "Woah, teacher lady! No way! I was thinking maybe you came to Summerland Base or something!"

"Thank Arceus." Navy Haired Teacher sighs in relief, her scary eyes going back to their normal sapphire. "Sorry. Last year's Ranger teacher tried to hit on me. I'm Dawn Berlitz," she introduces herself. "Lunick Berlitz's older sister. I'm the more epic one," she adds cheerfully.

"I'm Keith Dazuru, soon-to-be Top Ranger and one of the three prank masters of Almia Ranger School," Keith replies confidently. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Berlitz," he adds, reflexively flinching from a "where-are-your-manners-were-you-born-in-a-barn-or-something" punch in the arm from Kate.

It doesn't come.

Keith is momentarily confused before he remembers he's flying solo, and suddenly the day turns a little less cheerful.

"What's up?" Ms. Berlitz asks, noticing his sudden drop in mood.

"Nothing," says Keith a little too quickly. He then proceeds to distract her by asking, "Hey, is that teacher's hair naturally purple?"

* * *

"Good morning, everyone!" says Ms. April, cheerfully greeting the group of students gathered in a haphazard semicircle in front of her.

"Good morning," choruses the semicircle.

"This is Kate Hitomi. She's a recent graduate of Almia Ranger School who works in Vientown Base. Please pay attention and treat her with your utmost respect," continues Ms. April, fixing her students with a stern glare. "Kate, the stage…er…grass…is all yours," she finishes pleasantly, gesturing Kate forward.

"Um…hi." Kate waves timidly, forcing herself to get rid of her stage (grass?) fright. Steeling herself, she continues, "Okay, first things first. Can anyone tell me what a Pokémon Ranger is?"

Encouraged by the enthusiastic response she gets from the class she's instructing, Kate starts to loosen up a bit. She twirls an extra time during her Ranger Pose, proudly displays Munchlax and her Friend Pokémon, and explains the Voicemail and Poké Assist features on her Styler with ease. Riding high on her success, Kate almost misses Ms. April's announcement.

"And now, without further ado, Outdoor Class's main feature: the Question-&-Answer Session of Terror!"

_Oh, no._

* * *

"Oh, you guys call it that too?" Keith grins at the assembled students. "Awesome. Fire away!"

The first question is terribly predictable. "Did you get good grades at school?"

"They, uh, weren't the best," coughs Keith awkwardly, not about to admit that he basically got through school on Rhythmi's and Isaac's tutoring.

"I see…" The kid who asked the question adjusts his glasses, and a girl with spiked black hair steps up with the second question. "Is your job busy?"

"Yep." Keith nods.

"It's because of all the strange things happening in Almia, right? I hope Team Dim Sun doesn't come to Fiore…" Black Spikes Girl looks a bit worried.

Keith grins reassuringly at her. "It's all right. We're Rangers. This is what we do."

Black Spikes Girl blushes slightly, and more students step forward.

"Ever seen a real Gigaremo?" asks a guy with a camouflage jacket.

"Yep. Destroyed a few, too," answers Keith proudly.

"Wicked!" Camouflage Guy says.

"How many Pokémon have you captured?" yells someone from the back of the group.

"Uh…" Keith thinks. "More than a hundred, definitely."

"Wow, cool…" says someone else, and various murmurs of agreement rise from the group. Keith ruffles his hair awkwardly—he's good at bragging, but not so good at receiving praise.

A girl steps up, fidgeting shyly. "C-can…I touch your awesome Styler?"

"Sure, go for it," says Keith, adding in an undertone as she hands it over, "please don't break it, Joel will kill me…"

* * *

"Have you ever heard of the Prankster Trio?"

Kate laughs inwardly at the nickname she, Keith, and Rhythmi have garnered—_Keith would love this_—before dropping her voice conspiratorially. "I was part of the Prankster Trio," she reveals, eyes glittering mischievously.

The circle instantly dissolves into chaos.

"OhmyArceus, you were WHAT?"

"YOU Silly-Stringed Principal Lamont?!"

"How did you manage to get all that toilet paper onto the Bell Tower?"

"Is it true that you guys captured all the Gastly in the basement in one go and then set them loose in the school?"

"I heard that you guys filled water balloons with glitter water and threw them off the roof!"

"`You're epic!" yells a student in the back, and various cheers of "Yeah!" and "You're so cool, Ranger!" echo from the circle. Kate, slightly overwhelmed, starts turning pink.

"One more question," says Ms. April. "Anyone who's already asked one, put your hands down," she adds as everyone's hands go up.

A petite girl cautiously steps to the front of the group, poking two fingers together nervously.

"Ehehe…Are you in love with someone?"

* * *

There is dead silence.

* * *

Keith's train of thought crashes into a cliff. "Uh…what?" he stammers, fighting down a blush. "No! No way!"

"Denial is a river in the Olive Jungle," singsongs the girl who asked the question. Giggles abound from many of the female students.

"I'm not in denial!" retorts Keith, horrified to hear that his voice is an octave higher than normal.

_So this is what Lunick meant when he said there's always that one question…_

* * *

"L-love?" blurts Kate, turning a lovely shade of Tamato Berry. "O-of course not!"

"I knew it!" continues the petite girl, jumping up cheerfully. "Maybe even a former classmate?"

"D-definitely not!" protests Kate, angry with the stammer in her voice.

_Fan-freaking-tastic. Couldn't Barlow have recommended Luana?_

* * *

Before the demon child with the question about…love…can reply, there is an outrageously loud roar from the front of the school. Shock waves rock the courtyard, causing the ceramic fountain in the middle of the courtyard to split in half and crash onto the grass. The ground heaves, and students shriek as little fissures zigzag across the ground.

"Get everyone to the Ranger Base," Keith instructs the purple-haired teacher, who nods grimly. Without a further word, he dashes off in the direction of the noise, Demon Child's question echoing in his ears.

["Are you in love with someone?"]

* * *

"I absolutely forbid you from laying a finger on my students!" yells Ms. April at one of the Dim Sun grunts.

"Ooh, inspiring words for the kiddies," snarls Grunt #1. Kate sees red, but before she can let loose with her preferred arsenal of unprintable words, Grunt #2 types something into another Miniremo. A few seconds later, Carnivine swarm Ascension Square.

"Everyone, get behind me!" orders Kate, drawing her Styler as a few of the plantlike Pokemon roar. Munchlax growls back, brandishing its claws. Kate flicks her wrist, releasing the Capture Disc from its sheath and thanking Arceus that she was spared from the Question of Doom.

["Are you in love with someone?"]

* * *

The Gyarados's tail slams down on the pier, creating a large splintery crater, and the orange-haired Ranger-in-training stifles a swear word as he dodges the huge blue appendage. "Crap," he mumbles to himself. "Why am I having so much trouble with this? Kate would be done with this capture by now!"

Unbidden, an image of the spiky-ponytailed girl with the sparkling eyes flashes in front of his face, and he flushes red.

"I don't like her that way!" insists Keith as he dodges a Hyper Beam attack. "I don't! She's just my closest friend who might happen to be cute-"

Gyarados pauses and gives him a "Seriously?" look. (In reality it's just recovering from the Hyper Beam, but Keith doesn't know that.)

"Okay, so she's cute. That means NOTHING." Keith grits his teeth and spins his Poké Assisted Styler, thankful the Buizel inside can't see that he is working out his romantic issues with a rampaging Pokémon under Dim Sun mind control.

* * *

Kate whirls in and out of the Carnivine swarm, twirling the Capture Disc with deadly accuracy. "So maybe that question did freak me out a bit," she snaps at a Carnivine whose gaping red maw has managed to snag her coat sleeve. "So what? That doesn't mean anything. I mean, he's my best friend. I don't think of him that way. I was just…surprised, that's all."

Kate frees up her left sleeve by capturing the Carnivine with a series of fast loops and ducks just in time to avoid the stringy vine attack of another one. "Why did I have to start thinking about this _now?_" she groans to herself as she captures the last two plant Pokémon with a flick of her elongated Capture Line. "I mean, I'm obviously NOT in love! That's ridiculous!"

_Almost as ridiculous as talking to the mind-controlled Pokémon you're attempting to capture,_ says her inner voice sarcastically.

"Shut up," mumbles Kate as her cheeks heat up.

* * *

Summerland is quiet.

People gradually begin to come out of their houses, gathering at the Ranger Academy and the ruined pier in front of it. Cameron and the other Area Rangers attempt to disperse them to no avail and eventually settle for just telling people to remain a safe distance away because the pier is unstable. Keith ignores the warnings and stands on the edge of the splintered pier, the newly-captured Gyarados next to him.

There are footsteps, and Keith looks up. It's Cameron.

"Keith, you have a few people looking for you," the lax Area Ranger informs him. "Over there-ish." He motions to a small group standing on the steps of the school.

Keith looks up and jogs over. It's the Ranger Academy class.

"That was so awesome!" yells one student, and everyone starts talking all at once.

"-just charged off like a boss-"

"-and then you spun your Capture Line-"

"-watched the battle from the Ranger Depot-"

"That Gyarados was huge-"

"-coolest thing I've ever seen-"

Ms. Berlitz laughs at her students' enthusiasm. "Well, one thing's for sure, none of the students are going to forget this Outdoor Class for a long time. Thank you very much, Keith."

The students chime in with a synchronized "Thank you, Ranger!"

Keith grins. _Maybe this day hasn't been all bad._

* * *

"Ow." Kate winces and touches a spot on her cheek, looking at her finger and seeing the tiniest smudge of blood on it. _Great, I got cut. Still, it wasn't too bad…_

The brunette Ranger grins as she recalls how the students stared at her with awe as she stood in the middle of the clearing after completing the capture. The grunts had paused, unable to believe she'd defeated their Pokémon—at least until their Miniremo exploded and they decided it would be a really good idea to bail. The class turned into chaos again, this time the good kind, and Kate had signed her fair share of autographs and taken a few pictures before Ms. April and the rest of the students had bid her farewell.

Kate is brought back to reality when she notices the tear in her jacket.

"Aw, no! Keith is gonna be furious..." she groans to Munchlax as she stops next to Little Tim's house to examine the rip more closely.

"Munch?" The Big Eater Pokémon looks at her, a question in its eyes.

"Why? Oh! This is his coat," Kate explains cheerfully.

A beat passes as Kate realizes what she's just said.

"WHAT? We're FRIENDS! That's what friends do—lend each other coats when they're cold and stuff! Right?"

Kate's Partner Pokémon smirks, and the spiky-ponytailed Ranger storms into Vientown Base, cheeks a brilliant red.

* * *

Buizel is splashing in the water outside of Summerland Base.

Keith laughs. "Aw, hurry up, you. We gotta get home."

Buizel sticks its tongue out at him.

Keith casts a glance skyward. "Fine, fine. Whatever."

"Buiiiiiii!" The sea weasel cheers and dives back underwater as Keith casts his glance across the ocean, searching for the tiny speck of land that is Almia. _I wonder how Kate's doing…_

Buizel notices its partner's pensiveness and scampers onto Keith's shoulder, looking in the same direction.

"Hey, Buizel." Keith points to the smudge on the horizon. "See that? That's Almia."

"Bui?"

"Yep. That's where I came from," confirms Keith. "When I become a Top Ranger, I'm gonna go back there with you. We'll travel all over Almia and capture every single Pokémon, even the legendaries," he adds wistfully to the Pokémon on his shoulder. "And then I'll introduce you to my other best friend, Kate Hitomi."

Buizel smirks.

"W-what?" demands Keith, cheeks heating up. "She's my best friend! Nothing else, okay?"

Buizel shoots him a look that says, quite clearly, _You keep telling yourself that._ Keith stalks past his Partner Pokémon and into the Summerland Base.

* * *

"So, Kate! How was Outdoor Class?" asks Luana over dinner.

Kate drops a biscuit midway to her mouth. "U-um…Out-outdoor Class?" she stammers.

"Yeah, Outdoor Class. How was it," repeats the dark-haired Ranger impatiently.

"It was interesting. These Dim Sun goons sicced a bunch of Carnivine on me and ran away when I captured them," says Kate.

Luana looks at her knowingly. "Something else happened, didn't it? You've been acting funny since you got back."

"N-nope, nothing!" exclaims Kate a little too loudly. She snatches up her dropped biscuit and inhales it, effectively fielding off Luana's questions.

* * *

"You got one of those questions, didn't you?" asks Lunick as they head upstairs to crash for the night.

"No," says Keith, fighting down another blush. _If I don't watch out, this'll become a habit…_

"Yeah, okay." Lunick raises an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it was about that Ranger friend you're always talking about."

"Kate," corrects Keith on instinct.

"Told you," replies Lunick cheerfully.

"Oh, look, Solana just got back!" Keith points in a random direction and dashes up the rest of the stairs while Lunick is distracted.

* * *

That night, the shooting stars over both Almia and Fiore are especially bright (perhaps to aid the Rangers desperately seeking Jirachi's wish-granting ability.)

* * *

Keith wishes on a meteor.

* * *

Kate wishes on a plane.

* * *

"Please don't let my best friend find out about this…"

* * *

-fin


End file.
